Once again, Massachusetts and Barnstable are ahead of the curve in our work to continuously improve our public schools.

Patrick Murphy, Chairman

Once again, Massachusetts and Barnstable are ahead of the curve in our work to continuously improve our public schools. Over the past years, the laws, policies, and regulations related to educator evaluations have been changed significantly. Now we have to implement these changes.

Unfortunately, most of the public have little idea that anything is changing. Yet, once fully implemented, the changes will improve our teachers’ effectiveness with their students.

The new Barnstable Educator Evaluation contract was strongly approved in a vote by the Barnstable Teachers Association last week. The document can be viewed at the Barnstable Schools website (www.barnstable.k12.ma.us). This is a local version of similar agreements that are being discussed and negotiated in every school district across the Commonwealth.

From my own perspective as a longtime school committee member, the benefits of the new educator evaluation processes, once fully implemented, should tremendously strengthen the teaching profession.

As of this year, the educator evaluation cycle for each administrator and teacher regardless of length of service or experience now includes the following steps: A thoughtful process of self-assessment and data-driven evaluation of their own professional practice. Professional practice goal-setting and educator plan development with their peers. Implementation of the plan by each teacher and professional practice team. A formative assessment or evaluation followed by a summative evaluation of teachers done in one- or two-year cycles by administrators and supervisors. Furthermore, administrators are expected to do multiple unannounced visits to teachers’ classroom each year.

In Barnstable, Supt. Dr. Mary Czajkowski will continue her weekly visits to schools and has asked the principals and administrators for their own schedules of unannounced classroom visits. School committees’ assessment requirements for superintendents will follow a similar model.

The outdated perception of a tenured teacher who need not be responsive to evaluations or improvement expectations can be put to rest. Better yet, this false perception should be killed entirely. By following due processes and the new educator evaluation agreement, an underperforming teacher or administrator can be removed regardless of length of service. The reality is that today’s teaching profession is too demanding a culture for any teacher who isn’t honestly committed to constantly improve their own practice.

On a more optimistic note the educator evaluation process expects teachers and their peers along with administrators to thoughtfully share best practices about the teaching practice across several important performance standards including curriculum, planning, assessment, family and community engagement, professional culture, and student learning goals.

In some media reports nationally, the changes in educator evaluation contracts have focused on the use of student data and test scores to evaluate teachers. In the Barnstable agreement, there are multiple measures used to evaluate teachers and administrators. These include student data, unannounced observations, and evidence related to attaining the previously mentioned performance standards. This is a balanced approach to evaluating the subjective and objective factors that come together to make a good educator.

My own perspective is policymakers or school leaders who do not use a similar balanced approach to improving educator evaluation are either lazy or never studied statistics. The argument that some make for individual teachers to be paid based upon their students’ test scores strikes me as extraordinarily simplistic. Public school children come from all types of backgrounds and show up with all types of challenges. It is well recognized across the Commonwealth that children who are poor or speak English as a second language are the student groups that consistently have testing challenges. Yet, in Barnstable those children do succeed when they are with us for their entire education. The years of work put in by every previous teacher deserves equal responsibility for a child’s success.

Over time, with the help of this educator evaluation agreement, I would hope that school districts and the teaching profession as a whole could do a much better job identifying, praising, and rewarding the truly excellent teachers. Like any profession, peers can be the best examples and motivators for continuous improvement. For now, the school committee through the superintendent will need to make certain the evaluators across our district are well trained and provide teachers evaluations that add professional value.

Implementing these changes to the evaluation process will take time, training, and honest feedback. The Barnstable School Committee understands we need to make sure the resources, professional development, and survey tools are available to support effective and timely implementation.